Many Nairobians may know him as Jamal Roho Safi but that quickly transforms to Jamal Ibrahim when he dons his expensive suits and enters The Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi where he likes to hold his meetings and sometimes work out.
He carries both the flair of his fellow businessmen and the ruggedness of his partners in Nairobi’s chaotic matatu industry.
Perhaps it is the mastery of a balance of both worlds that has afforded the Nairobi Matatu Operators Chairman a life tucked away in the leafy environs of one of the city’s most affluent neighbourhoods.
Outside his mansion, he parks 3 luxury SUVs which only scratches the surface on the number of cars he owns, among them a white Range Rover, white Jeep and his latest addition the Toyota Landcruiser L200 series Kenyans have christened V8. His cars are known to have '010' as part of his registration number.
Some of his other less pricey automobiles include Toyota Noahs and PSVs which operate under the Telaviv Sacco that plies the Nairobi CBD - South C route.
Jamal’s knack for the finer things in life has seen him hover from one high-end hotel to another, sometimes with his cars and other times with a plane.
Inside his contemporary architecture mansion, Jamal’s furniture takes inspiration from English and French styles of the 18th and 19th centuries such as Baroque, Rococo, Romantic and Neoclassical with a touch of Somali culture.
From the living room to the dining area, the seats have elements of scrolled arms, turned feet, button tufting, soft fabrics which give a mix of both luxury and comfort.
Being a leader in the matatu sector calls for a generous amount of humility to be able to relate with drivers and touts which comprise a large number of young people.
The matatu boss is passionate about empowering the youth and regularly contributes to social causes in the city, insisting that he is not a politician.
He is vocal about matters affecting the matatu industry such as the looming ban from Nairobi CBD by NMS.
Jamal has called for the decongestion of the city in a process that will be fair to investors in the industry to prevent a situation where the government will seem to be competing with them.
He urged the government to open up the bus rapid transit (BRT) to be opened to matatu owners who wish to invest instead of making it a preserve of a few individuals.
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